Indian butterflyfish
Chaetodon mitratus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Indian butterflyfish
- Scientific
- Chaetodon mitratus
- Dhivehi
- ކިރުޅިޔަ ބިބީKirulhiya bibee
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 14 cm (standard length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 22 to 80 m (usually 50 to 68 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009
Description
A deep-dwelling butterflyfish, yellow with two diagonal black bands and a black eye bar, reaching about 14 cm. It lives on steep outer drop-offs, usually at 50 to 70 m, among rubble, black corals and sea fans, in small groups. It is rarely seen by recreational divers.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives kirulhiya bibee.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Chaetodon-mitratus.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=8927&GenusName=Chaetodon&SpeciesName=
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކިރުޅިޔަ_ބިބީ
- inaturalist.org /observations/102142020
Dhivehi name source: FishBase (country: Maldives) gives only the general group name 'Dhon bibi'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކިރުޅިޔަ ބިބީ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Kirulhiya bibee' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.